Refrigerator car drip pan



Och 1946. V c. R. HAMILTON mu. 2,409,273

v REFRIGERATOR CAR DRIP PAN Filed Sept. 4, 1943 Tlcll- INVENTORS(2425/1/ 2- A? 641/): mm

wyz-J 474 6.

Patented st. 15, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR CAR DRIPPAN Clarence R. Hamilton, Roseville, and James King,

Glendale, Calif., and James D. Baker, Winnetka, 111., assignors toJohns-"Vlanville Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication September 4, 1943, Serial No. 501,264

Claims. 1

The instant invention relates to improvements in refrigerator cars, and,more particularly, to an improved drip pan construction for cars of thistype and to a combined drip pan and floor construction.

A principal object of the invention is the provision of a drip panconstructed of a flexible, nonmetallic, waterproof material,particularly for use in refrigerator cars provided with flexible floorcrushed slate or sand. A further object of the instant invention is theprovision of a pan construction of the type referred to above whichinclude integral means forming a waterproof joint with such laminatedfloor coverings.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a drip pan of thetype referred to, which is formed of a single blank which may be readilyassembled into pan form either at the factory or on the job.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a pan asdescribed above, composed of laminated, bitumen-impregnated, flexiblesheets and including an extending portion or flap adapted to form awaterproof joint with a laminated floor covering.

Our invention will be more fully understood and further objects andadvantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made to themore detailed description thereof which is to follow and to theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken through the end portion ofa refrigerator car, illustrating a part of the wall structure, the drippan, and a portion of the floor;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a blank employed to form the. drip pan of theinstant invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the blank of Fig. 3 in partiallyassembled condition.

Referring now to the drawing, our invention will be described inconnection with a refrigerator car of generally conventionalconstruction. Thus, there are shown the usual car framing forming asurfacing 30. In accordance with the 2 sheathing overlying theinsulation l0 at the end of the car, and a tongue and groove woodenflooring [6 extending across the width of the car overlying insulationl2 and supported on suitable sills (not shown). Flooring I6 is continuedto a bearing rail 18 for the bulkhead separating the ice compartmentfrom the lading compartment.

Between bearing rail l8 and the end of the car, space is provided forthe drip pan which may be supported on a sub-flooring 22, compris-' ing,for example, a relatively thick plywood or the like.

Referring particularly to Fig. l, the covering for the floor over themain portion of the car is illustrated at 24 and comprises a suitablelaminated material. more lower layers 26 of a fabric saturated with abituminous material, such as asphalt, and an upper layer 28 of a heavyfelted material likewise saturated with a bituminous material, such asasphalt. The layers of felt and fabric are firmly cemented together withasphalt or the like. It will be understood that, although only twolayers are shown, the floor may be built up of any suitable number oflayers to provide the desired resistance to deterioration and damagewhen the.

car is in use. The top felt layer preferably carries an asphalt coatingin which is embedded or partially embedded a fine sand or crushed slateinvention, the lowermost layer or layers 26 are stopped a substantialdistance from the edge of bearing rail l8. The upper layer 28 of thefloor covering projects over the lower layer as illustrated in Fig. 1,but also ends an appreciable distance from the edge of the bearing railadjacent the drip pan space, the layers together forming one half of ashiplap type joint.

The drip pan, in accordance with the invention, is formed preferablyfrom a single blank, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, and comprisesa lower lamination of a fabric or felt saturated with a bituminousmaterial, such as asphalt, the lamination extending continuouslythroughout the blank. The fabric used for this lamination may be anordinary cotton duck of light weight and coarse weave which has beenthoroughly saturated in the bituminous material, or may be a.

similarly saturated felt, such as a rag felt, asbestos felt, or thelike.

The blank is cut to define a bottom wall 32, side Walls 34 and 36, endwalls 38, securing flaps 40, and a joint portion or flap 42. Securedover the bottom, side, and end wall portions of the lower members,layers of insulation [0 and I2, an inner lamination are separateelements 44, 46, 48, and

Preferably, it consists of one or 50, composed preferably of feltedmaterial of relatively heavy weight, impregnated with asphalt, andcarrying on its upper surface an asphalt coating in which is embedded orpartially embedded a fine mineral grit, such as fine sand. The materialis preferably the same or similarto that employed for .the outer layerof the main floor covering. Elements 44 to 50 are secured to the lowerlamination by a suitable adhesive, preferably asphalt, or otherbituminous material, and are spaced from one another a distance suchthat when the blank is folded into panform,the inner surfaces of the panare defined entirely by the outer faces of elements to 50. Element 50 isextended, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, over a substantialportion of the length of flap 42 to form therewith one half of ashiplap' typejoint.

As previously pointed out, the lower lamination of the blank ispreferably one integral piece of material. However, in the eventmaterial of the necessary dimensions is not available, separate piecesmay be abutte'd and the jointcovered and secured by the overlyingelements. Likewise, if felted material is not available in sufficientsize to form the elements, particularly the longitudinally" extendingelements 64', 48', and 50', they may be made in two sections with thejoint between section's staggered with respect to any joint in the lowerlamination.

In assembling the pan, the walls are folded into Vertical position andheld by flaps lfl, which are folded over and adhesively secured, as byan asphalt or the like, to the outer faces of the end walls. Flap 42'and the associated portion of element 50 are then bent at an angle tothe side wall, as illustrated in Fig. 4. In view of the relatively greatthickness of the element, suitably the material may be heated to softenthe asphalt before the bending" takes place to avoid cracking alongtheli'ne of bending.

The pan, after assembly of the blank, isinserted in the space providedadjacent the end of therefrig'erator car, and flap 42 placed to underliethe extending portion of the upper'la'yer of the floor covering, asshown in Fig. 1. As will be understood, the half joints on the pan andfiber covering are proportioned so that the edge of element 50 the edgeof the u per layer of the floor, covering 28 lying in abutting.relationship,

and likewise the edge of flap 4.2 and the edge of the underlyinglamination of the floor covering, lie in abutting relationship whereby ashiplap joint is' formed. The overlapping portions at the joint aresecured together by a suitableadhesive, such as asphalt. Although in theabove explanation the floor covering has been described as having beenfirst laid, the opposite may be the case and the drip pan firstpositioned and the floor coverin then laid to complete the jointtherebetween. An inner liner of the ice chamber, as illustrated at 52,is preferably extended to overlie or partially overlie the side andvertical walls of the p'an, as shown in Fig. 1.

' Having thus described our invention in rather full detail, it Will beUnderstood that these details need not be strictly adhered to, but thatnumero'us' changes and modifications will suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art, all falling within the scope of the invention asdefined by the subjoined claims.

What we claim is:

1. A refrigerator car construction comprising a floor covering, a drippan at an end of said car, said pan and floor covering being formed oflaminated, bitumen-impregnated sheets and a lapped joint between saidpan and covering and comprising integral portions thereof.

2. A refrigerator car comprising a floor covering, a drip pan at an endof said car, said floor covering comprising laminated,bitumen-impregnated sheets, and said drip pan including a panshapedmember composed of laminated, bitumenimpregnated layers having anintegral portion of one of said layers underlying a portion of saidfloor covering.

3. A refrigerator car comprising a floor covering, a drip pan at an endof said car, said drip pan comprising a pan-shaped member including alaminated bottom element, and laminated side and end elements integrallysecured to said bottom element by a lamination, said lamination having aportion underlying a portion of said floor covering.

4. A refrigerator car comprising a floor covering, a drip pan at an endof said car, said drip pan comprising a pan-shaped member formed from anintegral blank and including a continuous lamination forming. in partthebottom, side, and end walls of said pa'n, said lamination inolud. ing astrip underlying a contiguous portion of said floor covering; andseparate elements formed of asphalt-impregnated and coated feltoverlying said continuous lamination at" the bottom, end,

and side walls of said panand forming the inner surfaces thereof, one ofsaid elements including a portion extending into abutting relationshipWith said floor covering.

5. A refrigerator car comprising a floor covering, a drip pan at an endof said oar, said drip pan an integral blank and including'a continuouslamination forming in part the bottom, side, and end Walls of said pan,and said lamination" including an extending portion underlying acontiguous portion of said floor covering and also including flapsextending from opposite vertical walls of said pan and adhesivelysecured to the other walls, and separate elements formed ofasphalt-impregnated and coated felt overlying and adhesively secured tosaid continuous lamination at the bottom, end, and side walls of saidpan, one of said elements having an extension adhesively secured to theextending portion of said lamination and in abutting relationship withsaid floor covering.

6-. A refrigerator car comprising a' floor covering, a drip pan at anend of'said car, said drip pan comprising a pan-shaped member formedfrom a single blank and including a continuous lamination forming inpart the bottom,side, and end walls of said pan, said laminationincluding an extending portion underlying a contiguous portion of saidfloor covering, and also including. flaps extending from oppositevertical walls of said pan and adhesively secured to the other walls,and separate elements formed of asphaltimpregnated'and coated felt witha granular sur.. face material partially embedded in said coatingoverlying said continuous lamination at the bottom, side, and end wallsof said pan and forming the inner surface thereof, one of said elementsincluding a portion extending into abutting relationship with said floorcovering.

7. A drip pan for a refrigerator car or thelike,

said pan comprising a pan-shaped member innated and coated feltoverlying said continuous lamination at the bottom, end, and side Wallsof said pan, one of said elements covering said joint strip for aportion of the length thereof.

8. A drip pan for a refrigerator car or the like comprising a pan-shapedmember including a continuous lamination forming in part the bottom,side, and end walls of said pan, securing flaps extending from oppositevertical walls of the pan and adhesively secured to the other verticalWalls, a joint strip extending from one of said walls, and separateelements formed of asphalt-impregnated and coated felt overlying saidcontinuous lamination at the bottom, side, and end Walls of said pan,one of said elements covering said joint strip for a portion of thelength thereof.

9. A drip pan for a refrigerator car or the like comprising a pan-shapedmember including a continuous lamination forming in part the bottom,side, and end Walls of said pan, securing flaps extending from oppositevertical walls of the pan and adhesively secured to the other verticalwalls, and a joint strip extending from one of said walls, and separateelements formed of asphaltimpregnated and coated felt overlying saidcontinuous lamination at the bottom, side, and end walls of said pan,and granular surfacing material partially embedded in the coating ofsaid separate elements, one of said elements overlying and adhered tosaid joint strip for a portion of the length thereof.

10. A drip pan for a refrigerator car or the like comprising apan-shaped member formed from a single blank and including a continuouslamination of asphalt-impregnated felt forming in part the bottom, side,and end Walls of said pan, securing flaps extending from oppositevertical walls of said pan and adhesively secured to the other verticalwalls, a joint strip projecting from one of said vertical Walls, andseparate elements formed of asphalt-impregnated and coated feltoverlying said continuous lamination at the bottom, end, and side wallsof said pan and forming the inner surface of said pan and a granularsurfacing material partially embedded in the coating of said elements,one of said elements overlying and adhered to said joint strip for aportion of the length thereof.

CLARENCE R, HAMILTON.

JAMES KING.

JAMES D. BAKER.

